Overview
The series followed the adventures of astrophysicist Adam Brake and his young son Matthew after they arrive in the small village of Milbury, which is built in the midst of a megalithic stone circle.
Filmed at Avebury, Wiltshire during Summer 1976, with interior scenes filmed at HTV's Bristol studios, it was an unusually atmospheric production with sinister, discordant wailing voices heightening the tension on the incidental music. The music was composed by Sidney Sager who used the Ambrosian Singers to chant in accordance with the megalithic rituals referred to in the story. Director Peter Graham Scott was surprised on seeing the script that the series was intended for children's airtime due to the complexities of the plot and disturbing nature of the series. The series is frequently cited by those who remember it as one of the scariest things they saw as children. Involving a temporal paradox and issues of individuality and community assimilation, the series is also thematically challenging for its intended after-school audience, and can be described as a children's version of magical realism.
Cast as the leader of the village, Hendrick was well-known actor Iain Cuthbertson, while the leading role of Adam Brake was filled by another experienced actor, Gareth Thomas, who would later find greater fame as the main character in the science fiction series Blake's 7. Child actors Peter Demin and Katharine Levy played the teenage leads Matthew and Sandra. Popular character actors of the time Freddie Jones and John Woodnutt were cast as poacher Dai and butler Link.
Because of its dark tone and often frightening images not commonly associated with a children's show, the series has been nicknamed by critics as "The Wicker Man for Kids"
Read more about this topic: Children Of The Stones